


This is How It Goes

by smolassassinchildx (smolassassinchild)



Series: Out of the Black--Old Series [7]
Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003), Firefly
Genre: Crossover, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-07-23
Updated: 2009-07-23
Packaged: 2017-10-03 05:53:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smolassassinchild/pseuds/smolassassinchildx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been a long time coming, but Kara finally realizes after all they've been through, Lee is still there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This is How It Goes

“You, Kara Thrace, are a cheat.”

“I have _no_ idea what you’re talking about, Lee.”

“Really? So you want to tell me how that_ jiao feng _card in your hand last round was in mine as well? Because last time I checked, they don’t put duplicates in a deck.” His question was greeted with a roguish smirk, and he just shook his head in response.

“Your hand sucked.” Kara protested, absolving herself. “If you had folded, I wouldn’t have gotten caught.”

“_We_ wouldn’t have gotten caught. I’m going to have a hell of a lot of bruises tomorrow that say I was in that bar fight too.”

Kara pushed her hands into the pockets of her cargo pants, feeling the weight of her ill-gotten winnings—and their ticket to food and fuel for the next two months. It was at least triple the amount of money she’d arrived with.

The night before, she’d fallen asleep over her log trying to work out what they were going to do since they were less than a week away from running out of food and hadn’t been able to land a single job yet—not surprising considering their last debacle. She’d woken to the jerk and shudder of her ship breaking atmo. Rushing up to the bridge, she demanded who the frak told Helo to go planetside—on Beaumonde, her old home of all places—because she sure as hell didn’t. Lee’d appeared behind her saying it was his idea and told her to put on something decent because they were going out. He didn’t yield to any demands to let her know what was going on until they were standing outside the bar. “You can shrug every once in a while, Atlas,” he’d told her, pushing the money into her hands.

She hadn’t thought about it at the time, in the bustle of the Maidenhead bar with a card game waiting to be played, but now as they walked through New Dunsmir’s dingy, grey industrial district on their way back to the spaceport, she started to wonder.

“So, Lee, where’d you get the platinum anyway?” She asked, sliding an arm around his shoulder as they passed under a flickering streetlight. “You been holding out on us?”

“Hardly, the Alliance froze my bank account when I went from law clerk to outlaw.” He kicked at a discarded can that lay in the middle of the sidewalk. “Since almost all of the notices to be on the lookout for us and _Kobol_ are gone from the Cortex, I asked Baltar to see what he could do about the money situation. He told me Felix was able to move some of the money into an accessible account before the rest of it vanished. I guess the Alliance caught on.”

“Shiny; advantages of having Baltar and the bridge bunnies around, huh?”  Kara grinned, but his first sentence stuck in her mind. _From law clerk to outlaw_. It sounded like Lee had been living a pretty cushy life, and of course she had to be the one to uproot him and drag him out into the black where they never quite knew what they’d do if they ran out of supplies. She and Lee never really talked about that first year in the ‘Verse, but she knew he’d been working in a law office, and every once in a while during the year apart she’d wondered what he was doing (ignoring the pang of loneliness that shot through her whenever she’d thought about how far away he was, thought that she might never see him again). “So… was life on Ariel all it’s cracked up to be?”

“Not too bad if you don’t mind security cameras on every street.” Lee sounded like he was thinking very hard to try to come up with the upsides from that year. “I had a decent job, my own place with a nice view of the city, not quite Caprica City but it was still a good view.” He paused, brow crinkling slightly but seemed to be coming up empty on nostalgia. “I think Dad and Laura liked it more than I did; lots of theatres, museums, libraries. Retirement suited them,” he concluded with a faint smile.

The brief pang of guilt from earlier quickly faded away; maybe, just maybe he didn’t miss Ariel that much.  Maybe he really did prefer to be there with her… no, not her, everyone.

She felt his elbow jab lightly into her side. “Bet it  wasn’t half as exciting as your gig hustling card games and getting thrown out of bars.”

“Hey, I had real jobs. …For a while.” She slipped her arm away from him and tugged at the khaki shirt she wore, the bottom and the sleeves were fraying slightly. “This was part of the uniform from the first one. They fired me after a month… something about talking back to the boss.” Lee cast her sideways glance that looked oddly relieved. “I was supposed to give it back… it was a jumpsuit before I got done with it. And don’t knock the card games, Sam brought in the money and I doubled it… most of the time.”

She paused briefly as they turned a corner, onto a street she knew intimately. Two buildings down the block, three floors up, five windows over from the right was the one that had looked into their living room. Of course, the last time she’d seen the place, it was freshly decorated with broken furniture and bloodstains—something she was sure the landlord had been_ really_ grateful for. “Hey.” She felt Lee’s hand on her shoulder, apparently he’d done the math. “Are you alright?”

“Less and less every time someone asks me that,” she said, trying not to grit her teeth. She didn’t mean to sound bitter, but godsdamnit her entire crew was treating her like she was going to frakking break every single time his name came up. Yeah, losing Sam hurt like hell, and yeah maybe she hadn’t exactly exhibited sanity in the wake of it, but she was getting better. She _was_ getting better.

She didn't miss Lee's little sideways glance. "We're just care about you, Kara." His voice was soft, concerned, compassionate and it was everything she didn't want to hear from him. Not about Sam, not after everything. She snorted and turned away but Lee he grabbed her arm. When she turned back to him, she could see the tension in his face, jaw shifting. His voice wasn't compassionate at all this time, but laced with frustration and his own anger. "Why is that still so godsdamn hard for you to understand?"

She leveled a hard look at him, feeling the old anticipation burning in her gut. It'd been a long time since they did this, but she hadn't forgotten how or where to strike.  “What about you, Lee? You want to talk about regrets? Share our feelings? Your ex-wife is living upstairs. How are you dealing with it?" Her tone dripped faux sincerity.  "You two can barely be in the same room for five minutes before one of you starts getting all tetchy.”

“This is _not_ about me and Dee!”

"Oh no, of course not, because I'm the only screw-up around here right? Captain Apollo doesn't doesn't make mistakes and he sure as hell doesn't regret them in the morning." She sneered, tilting her head. A silhouette appeared in one of the few windows still illuminated at this hour, before going completely black. "Remind me again why you married her in the first place, because I seem to remember one night, right before that when you were all too ready to-”

He cut her off, his voice deadly and growling. "I don't regret marrying Dee. _That_ is the only frakking mistake I regret."

Kara jerked her arm out of his grasp, staring at him wide-eyed and speechless, her gut churning. Seems she’d forgotten just how good he was at this too.

Lee looked away, scowling, and she could tell he was composing himself, trying to calm down. But when he turned back to face her with eyes looking tired and defeated, his voice still ran cold, echoing dully in the empty street. “_Bai tuo, an jing yi dian_.”

Slowly, they walked back to the spaceport, the only sound was their footfalls as they automatically fell into measured step.

\---

Back in their bunkroom now, Lee lay on his bed, flipping through a book that his father had given him. She’d seen it on his nightstand earlier, old and worn and the faded title, _The Winter’s Tale_, barely noticeable on the cover. The Old Man and Roslin had gotten quite involved with picking up books whenever they were planetside, and had assembled a small library. Kara on the other hand sprawled on her bed across the room, thought of the myriad reasons her bed was across the room—tonight was just one small example but it was part of their pattern. Everything from sleeping with Baltar and leaving him that morning on New Caprica to these stupid little fights they had, she kept managing to hurt him; not to mention the destruction she seemed to habitually rain down on the people she loved.

Ever since Lee had moved downstairs with her, since their escape from that jail on Athens, he’d been right there in front of her, and more importantly there _for_ her. Not just as first mate, either, but as her friend, her foil. He saw right through every façade she put up and broke it down and it pissed her off just the tiniest bit that he knew her so godsdamned well. Of course, after all they’d been through, could she really expect anything less?

She replayed the sentence in her head and bolted upright. _After all they’d been through… he was right there_. All the things she’d frakked up, all the things that had driven them apart—even years spent apart, two years after Zak’s death, one year on New Caprica, one year divided on Beaumonde and Ariel—hell, she’d died and come back and didn’t even know why, and they still kept coming back to each other.  The sheer power of the epiphany alone was enough to strike a thrum of longing in her.

She pushed herself off her bed and crossed the room in a few quick strides, her abrupt appearance at Lee’s bedside dragged him quickly out of his reading. “Kara?” he asked, tentatively, like he was trying to step around a live landmine.

She let out a deep breath, shaking her head slightly. “Look, about earlier-”

“Just forget about it.” Lee rose to his feet, a slight smile on his face like he didn’t actually need her to apologize. “We were angry, we said things. What else is new?”  Her eyes locked onto his, so blue, and soft and slightly confused (maybe even a little bit eager, she hoped she wasn’t imagining that); but this was it.

She had to do this. RFN.

Without another second of hesitation she wrapped her hand against the back of Lee’s neck. Urgently, recklessly her mouth crashed against his, and for a moment Lee stood rigid in her grip.

But only for a moment.

And in the next moment he was returning the kiss in full—lips, tongue, and teeth—as his hands brushed up her sides, under her shirt, fingertips feeling like jolts of electricity against her skin. Gods it had been too long since she’d felt his hands on her like this. She nipped at his lower lip, eliciting a low groan from the back of his throat, right before his tongue slid between her lips, sliding across hers. She could feel everything—the way her heart raced, the way his beat against her chest, the heat of his hands as they slid over her hips, and jerked her against him.

In fact she was so caught up in all the little sensations, that she didn’t notice they were tipping over onto Lee’s bed, until she was straddling his hips at the very edge of the bed and he was looking up at her. His eyes were hazy with desire—a desire which was also evident in other parts of his body—but she could tell that his brain was going again. She almost laughed. Like he could ever stop thinking.

Lee pushed himself up a bit, propped up on his elbows, lower lip dropping. She knew he was about to ask if she was sure about this and she hadn’t been more sure of anything in a long time. She figured she’d save him the trouble. Gently cupping his cheeks, she brought her lips down on his again—not quite so voracious as before, but no less passionate. It seemed to be all the answer he needed.

In a quick flurry of movement, he sat up and pushed her arms aside, unzipping the khaki top and pushing the olive-colored material off her shoulders. Kara groaned in reluctance as he pulled back from the kiss. In another swift movement, he pushed her black sports bra up over her head, revealing her breasts and he stared, captivated as they rose and fell at eye level with her heavy breathing.

Lee’s hands traveled up her back, nails brushing lightly against her skin, causing her to arch forward, where his mouth eagerly fastened onto one taut nipple, sucking, nipping. Kara slid her hands through his hair, drawing his head closer for just a bit more. She couldn’t suppress the light whimper escaping from her lips as he switched sides, tongue and lips working her other breast, ripples of pleasure shooting through her. Every motion of his mouth was so deliberate she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d planned it. Gods only knew how long he’d been waiting, lying in a bed not ten feet away; how many nights had he thought about dropping the perfect frakking gentleman act and devouring her like this?

Her hips jerked involuntarily against his and he let out a guttural growl. The ache between her legs was becoming unbearable; she could feel the damp fabric of her underwear clinging to her slickness—and they were both still wearing entirely too much clothing. She pushed Lee back down on the bed, fingers working furiously to unbutton his shirt. Stripping away the white fabric, she looked down at him beneath her, the arms and chest of a god, rivaling the chiseled statues that had once filled the museum in Delphi, save for the beginnings of a few purplish marks from the scuffle at the Maidenhead. She could have stared forever, but his hands went to work, unzipping her fly, pushing her pants and underwear down her thighs—leave it to her first mate to make sure things kept running smoothly. Kara eagerly kicked her way out of the discarded clothing and rose up enough to undo his belt and work him free.

She felt her heart pounding furiously in her chest as she knelt over him, his hands ghosting up her thighs and coming to rest on her hips. “Gods,” he whispered as he drank her in with his eyes; she could feel the heat of his gaze as it wandered over her breasts, down her firm stomach, and a grin curled his lips when it fell on the dark blonde curls between her legs. But then he caught her gaze once again, and his eyes had a more serious look. “Are you _absolutely_ sure about this?”

Of course, he just had to ask, had to make sure he wasn’t taking advantage of some mood swing that would pass when they were done and drive her further away than before (and it didn’t scare her at all that she knew exactly what he was thinking.) Kara bent forward, her lips hovering barely an inch from his. “Really? How hard did that _hun dan_ hit you in the head?” She grinned as her mouth sealed over Lee’s, smothering his light laugh. The vibrations tickled her lips but were not nearly as satisfying as the delirious moan that escaped him as she finally sank down over his hardened length.

There were nights when she’d indulged in a memory of their night on New Caprica, but the memories didn’t compare to the act—the way Lee thrust up into her as she bore down, matching the rhythm she set as she rode him, working with her and against her and tumbling into ecstasy. She arched up, head falling back, listening to the sound of his voice, low and breathy and groaning her name like a prayer.

Wrapping his arms firmly about her hips, he pulled himself up against her, and captured her lips again. She threw her arms around his shoulders and reveled in it, his torso pressed against hers, her legs around his waist, locked together so completely. One of his hands somehow snaked between them, seeking and successfully finding her clit. Her body tensed, rocking hard against him as his thumb brushed against the sensitive nub, once, twice, she couldn’t keep count and he sent her spiraling over the edge. Clenching tight around him was enough to drive him over as well, crying out her name as he emptied himself inside her.

Utterly spent, they fell back against the bed, breathing slowly returning to a normal pace. She lay half-sprawled over him, her finger lazily tracing over his chest, his hand resting gently on her hip.

“This is real isn’t it?”

Typical Lee, couldn’t even shut his brain off long enough to bask in the afterglow. “What’s your definition of real?” She craned her neck slightly to get a look at his face; he didn’t look worried, in fact a big dopey post-coital grin was painted broadly across his face.

“I mean, you’re not going to be gone when I wake up.” Not a question, a confirmation.

Kara propped herself up on her elbow, a smirk working her way across her lips. “Well, I might get up and make some coffee, because, hey, we can afford to break into the rations again, but no… not going anywhere.”  Her nose crinkled softly. Besides, even if she did, it’s not like she could ever really get away from him.

Lee brought his hand up, fingers tracing lightly over her cheek. In a careful, measured, but nevertheless honest voice he breathed, “I love you.” And he waited for her reply.

_Love_.

She’d loved Zak. And she’d loved Sam. And as wonderful as those feelings had been, they were not at all what she felt for Lee. Yes, she loved him. But he was more than a lover; he was a partner, in everything they did. Maybe she’d never really be over her losses, but she’d be damned before she threw this away again. “Lee,” she whispered, and pressed a gentle kiss against his hand. “I don’t think there’s a word for what I feel for you.”

Content, Lee lay back against his pillow, eyelids sliding shut, and he fell off to sleep. Kara cast a sideways glance at her bed on the other side of the room. It was just too frakking far away and she _really_ did not want to get up. She arranged herself so she wouldn’t smother Lee in their sleep, and drifted off as well.

\---

The first thing Lee was aware of when he woke up was the smell of coffee. His eyes fluttered open and surveyed the room, but Kara was nowhere to be seen. He craned his head to see a brown mug on the stand by his bed, steam rising above the rim. Grinning he wrapped his hand around the heated porcelain and brought it to his lips. As he took a sip, he noticed a piece of paper on the stand as well. He unfolded it and saw Kara’s handwriting in a hastily written message.

_Grocery shopping with Helo. Will help you push the beds together when I get back. _

\---End---


End file.
